PROJECTS

The Washington Post

(Getty Images / iStock)
In my job teaching college English and creative writing, I hold individual conferences with my freshmen every semester, and this year’s were a doozy: One young woman wanted me to help her with a criminal complaint; one young man sought advice on finding a neurologist; and another student asked me how debit cards are different from credit cards.
I tried my best to help, but wondered, not for the first time, why young adults were coming to college with so little knowledg...

Slate

Procrastination should be relaxing, but somehow, I’ve turned it into another job—sort of. Instead of plopping down in front of the TV or napping, like any normal writer would do, I fritter away some of the hours I should be working by daydreaming about doing other work: specifically, about the sweater...

livinglutheran.org

Work. Home. The kitchen. The couch. My life sometimes seems like a dull routine, yet the Spirit breaks through. I almost never turn on my television with the expectation of deepening my faith by what I watch, but it often happens. If not in my living room watching a favorite show, I might encounter grace in my office at the university where I teach, in a high school where I am a teaching artist, or on the highway as I drive home from an evening out.
A few of these moments: While watching “Gra...

The New Yorker

The number of days it took you to realize that you wouldn’t be bragging to your college alumni magazine about working at the White House after all, plus the color of the floor tile in the bathroom where you go to cry.
Your least favorite Trump child’s middle name, plus the number of shots you do on weeknights.
The birth month of the sibling your parents are now most proud of, plus the name of the street you lived on when you foolishly decided that majoring in political science was a good idea...

AFAR

New York City may be one of the most written-about places in the United States. Here are some of the best reads to get you pumped about your next trip there—and what to pore over once you’ve arrived.
I love to read about places I’ve traveled to, both to reminisce about their wonders and to whet my appetite for returning. New York City is a special case in point. I lived there for 14 years and during that time reveled in reading the many books about it; now that I travel to NYC several times a...

The New Yorker

I clicked “Going” on your event’s Facebook page.
Not attending.
I clicked “Going” on your event’s Facebook page and left a comment about how excited I am for this event because you, girl, are finally coming into your own, and it’s about damn time!
Not attending.
I clicked “Interested” on your event’s Facebook page.
I have already forgotten that your event exists.
I did not respond to your event’s Facebook page in any way.
I have forgotten that you exist.
I recently posted an article on Facebo...

longreads.com

Shannon Reed | Longreads | October 2017 | 16 minutes (3,891 words)
All Pittsburghers, even those who can’t be bothered with baseball, know what happened on October 13, 1960: the Pirates’ second baseman, Bill Mazeroski, hit a walk-off home run, which shot over the left field fence of Forbes Field in Oakland, and into history, securing for the Pirates the World Series in the seventh game. In the photos of Mazeroski rounding third and heading for home, the joy is palpable, as teammates and fans ...